AOL plans to distribute Discovery channels as its Huffington Post flip flops on Goldman Sachs.

Animal Planet finds room for Geico and other advertisers in annual Super Bowl "Puppy Bowl."

Ann Taylor brings back actress Kate Hudson as ambassador and designer.

Apple plans to offer broader guidance on earnings as it must fight to maintain dominance of iPhone.

Audi releases Super Bowl commercial with alternate endings for YouTube voting.

Boeing faces of extended inquiry by authorities into Dreamliner fires.

Bristol settles Hepatitis C claims.

Burger King drops firm that supplied horse meat in UK.Continue reading...

Fun stuff: New Era baseball caps (which given its sport, doesn't need salary caps) taps a raft of celebs in its new campaign.

In the first spot, fellow NBC stars Alec Baldwin of 30 Rock and John Krasinski (The Office) trash-talk each other's beloved Yankees and Red Sox, in keeping with baseball's humorous marketing this season. Fans are invited to pick their fave of the rival teams on New Era's Facebook page.

Future spots will include Conan O'Brien, Ellen DeGeneres, Jerry Seinfeld, Tina Fey, Martin Scorsese and Justin Bieber.

The remake of Arthur (subbing in Russell Brand for Dudley Moore) vies for the top spot this weekend, and we'll have coverage of the film's product placements on Monday. For now, how many brands (other than the film's star) can you spot in the film's trailer?

Now a look at some other product placement news of the week that did not contain the term "Morgan Spurlock."Continue reading...

Citi says every single major automaker is a "sell" thanks to Japan supply/disruption issues as Honda faces US slowdown as parts-strapped Toyota cancels overtime at UK plants.

Audi to offer limited-edition “halo” cars to haunt BMW.

Dancing with the Stars faces heat over dancer's Playboy cover.

Dell increases investment in cloud computing.

Expedia plans to spin off TripAdvisor.

Genentech gets help from patients in Avastin fight.Continue reading...

Deep down, we all knew this would happen. Our favorite television shows and news articles for free – anywhere, anytime, forever? It just sounded too good to be true. And it was.

Hulu is leading the charge in a trend that will surely be implemented by websites that provide free episodes of television programs. In an effort generate revenue, Hulu plans on placing a price tag on popular shows such as “Modern Family,” “House,” and “30 Rock.” This is quite a development -- not just for Hulu but for online content in general, across the globe. Just ask the New York Times.Continue reading...

Cisco is not yet in the top of the Brandcameo product placement leaderboard. But with recent efforts, it might be soon.

Cisco has appeared in 2009 blockbusters He's Just not That Into You, G.I. Joe and Transformers. The latter showing, product placement analytics firm Front Row estimated to be worth near $10 million. (Though accurate product placement valuation has long been questionable.) And earlier this year, Cisco's Webex technology could be seen in Marvel Comics titles.

But last night was Cisco's largest, most prominent, and maybe most successful Hollywood tie-in yet.Continue reading...

Variety reports that the NBC network is developing a sitcom based on the experiences of a Wal-Mart ex-employee who is writing the script. But anticipating objections, "Wal-Mart has been replaced by a fictional big-box store." Said the writer, Paul Rust:

Based on some of the ideas I'm coming up with, I don't think it's something Wal-Mart would want its name on... This is the beginning of a long-running career in which I base things on industries that could cripple me legally.

That is a shame. If Wal-Mart got no bad press, would it get any press at all? From Michael Moore's unflattering anecdote accusing the giant retail brand of benefitting financially from the death of its employee, to charges it's killing the publishing industry by going to war with Amazon and killing the retail industry's Christmas by basically selling everything for pennies, to stereotypes of its customers as styleless Fatty McFattersons, Wal-Mart just gets no respect.Continue reading...

Starbucks admits mistakes in UK, where uniform store design has provoked an anti-homogenization backlash, and announces another brand overhaul. [Telegraph]

Mad Men, 30 Rock top US television's Emmys. [LA Times]

Interbrand's Best Global Brands 2009 shows recession's impact, especially on finance and automotive. [NY Times]

Yahoo! prepares to announce new ad campaign Tuesday, putting the "Y" in "You." [paidContent]

Disney, Marvel encounter copyright challenge from heirs of "X-Men" and "Fantastic Four" creator Jack Kirby. [NY Times]

Katie Couric rides out rumors and skepticism at CBS Evening News, announces new web series, "@katiecouric." [NY Times]

(More headlines: Kraft-Cadbury, Boden, hybrid TV from BBC)Continue reading...